Shadow Dancing
by Celesta SunStar
Summary: As the Ronins recover from the final fall of Talpa, Sage finds himself becoming both the teacher and the student of the Warlords. *Chapter Four up* FINALLY
1. Chapter One

Shadow Dancing  
  
-Celesta SunStar  
  
I don't own the Ronin Warriors. I make no profit from this.  
  
As much as I would like to play around with Gaiden aftermath, I have never seen any of the OAVs so I must pretend that they never happened.  
  
As the Ronins recover from the final fall of Talpa, Sage finds himself becoming the teacher and the student of the Warlords.  
  
May eventually turn out yaoi, I will adjust the rating when/if that happens. Mentions an odd pairing, but I will generally focus on Sage and the Warlords  
  
*  
  
Sage gazed out of the window. The full moon turned the snow-covered landscape into a silver and velvet wonderland. Behind him Cye and Kento were having another friendly argument, this one about their respective girlfriends. Both Catherine and Milaya were sweet and sensible girls that had been rescued by Kento and Cye while on 'clean-up' duty after Talpa had been defeated the second time. Catherine's outgoing and bubbly personality complimented Cye well, while Milaya somehow managed to keep Kento under control. Sage was happy for them; they were lucky to have found girlfriends who understood the whole 'Honey, I have to go save the world' thing that happened to them occasionally.  
  
Ryo, Rowen and Mia, now that was an odd set; Sage suspected that they had gotten together for comfort when Talpa had captured Kento, Cye and himself. It must have worked out well, since they seemed content to stay that way.  
  
Sage wasn't lonely. With the armor bond, none of them could ever really be 'alone' again, but he felt... stifled. He was happy that his friends were happy, but that didn't mean that they needed to keep trying to set him up.  
  
Finding himself outside, he breathed in the crisp, clean air and smiled into the calming silence. He started off into the glassy jeweled forest. His friends meant well, but he was starting to feel claustrophobic around people. He needed to rebalance himself.  
  
He found himself in a clearing later. The ground was bare of snow, but hard and frosty. His subarmor was barely more then a thought away, the familiar magic turned metal as comfortable as a second skin. He stretched, and then frowned faintly. It felt like there was something missing...  
  
With a soft smile Sage raised his hands and wove a short robe from the gleaming moonlight, twinkling starlight, shimmering snowlight, and the comforting, clinging shadows. As it whispered over the subarmor, Sage stood in the center of the clearing, and allowed the light to pour into his hands, forming his sword. The weight steadied him, allowing the closed-in feeling caused by worried care of his armor mates to melt away like a heavy unneeded cloak by a bonfire.  
  
He closed his eyes to better let the stillness of the place become the stillness of self, and then let the stillness flow into the first simple turns and cuts of an elaborate pattern dance.  
  
He felt another sword meet his, not harsh, but like the merest touch of a butterfly wing. He neither stopped nor opened his eyes, continuing the strikes, cuts, blocks, and spins that he had learned so long ago. He continued to feel the touch of an arm, the kiss of a blade, slide of lovers' lips in the light meeting of swords as he dueled his shadow in the winter moonlight.  
  
And it was over. It felt far too soon, but the dance could not be denied its proper ending. Stillness blanketed him again, as Sage opened his eyes and bowed to his dance partner. His partner bowed back, the light revealing a smile and a cross-shaped scar before the shadows swirled around their advocate as he walked away in the star studded night.  
  
Sage smiled as well as he too, turned to follow the glittering path home.  
  
*  
  
TBC  
  
Reviews are always welcome and appreciated, please let me know what you think. 


	2. Chapter Two

Shadow Dancing chap 2  
  
-Celesta SunStar  
  
I don't own the Ronin Warriors. I make no profit from this.  
  
*  
  
Tonight his partner was Seckmet. He used two swords like Ryo did, but there the similarities ended. The footwork, the bladework, even the swords were different, longer and double-edged. This bout was not silent as well, since Seckmet was relating all the current events during their frequent breaks after a point was scored. They would then review the move that scored the point, until the other warrior could defend against it.  
  
"...So as far as we can tell, the Dynasty is inherently unstable. Under Talpa's reign it grew too large to support itself and Talpa's answer was to annex more and more territory. The ties holding the different lands together are collapsing and as the lands heal, they break away to renew their own, independent existences. We are finding ourselves needed less, and though it is a gradual process, the day is coming that the Dynasty will not be our home any longer. It will still be there, and we could live there, but it would not be 'home' for us. Lady Kayura thought that we should use this time that we have to become more acquainted with the modern world. We did think about asking you guys, but it was... hard."  
  
Sage nodded thoughtfully as he retrieved a bottle of water for them both. Seckmet frowned a bit as he watched Sage unscrew the top and then did the same. Sage tipped his head to look sidelong at the green-haired man, "Why approach me?"  
  
Seckmet didn't look up at Sage; instead he focused his attention on the cap of the water bottle. "Well, Cale pretty much focused all of his attention on you during the war, and except for that one little incident with Torrent... ah Cye, he never damaged any of the other Ronins. We thought that if you accepted him, he would find an easier welcome then I or Dais would; so he could help the rest of us when the time came."  
  
"Hmm," Sage nodded slowly and his eyes focused on the middle distance. Some moments passed and Seckmet reluctantly abandoned the cap to play with the label. "How about a trade of sorts?" The tension in the Warlord's shoulders tightened and then relaxed a bit.  
  
"Like what exactly?"  
  
"Well, books, I'll bring some and you and the other Warlords can read them. And then I'll try to answer any of the questions that you may have about them. That will do for a start; there is still going to be culture shock, but at least it will be... removed a bit."  
  
Seckmet blinked and looked at Sage. "That is a good idea. I would not have thought of that. But you mentioned a trade?"  
  
"I'd like to pick your brains, for one." Seeing Seckmet's confused glance, he lifted a shoulder in a move too precise and graceful to really be called a shrug. "You're the Warlord of Venom, I doubt there is anything you don't know about poisons and toxins. And I'm a Healer. It's much easier to heal something if I know exactly what's wrong. Also you are bound to know other uses for all the different herbs and minerals found in nature, and that's something that would be very useful for me to know.  
  
"Cale and Dais... and Lady Kayura probably have knowledge or... avenues to explore things that would be interesting or useful to know. Plus you guys have been around for... what, 450 years? You have to have learned things about the armors that's we haven't thought of yet. Not to mention that there are fighting tricks that you guys know that I have never learned or even heard of. Also, what if the armors are called on again? That would be a hell of a time for our two teams to have to learn to work together and trust each other."  
  
"Wow," Seckmet was speechless for a moment, eyeing the younger warrior beside him with a new respect. "I thought that Stra- Rowen was supposed to be the smart one?"  
  
Sage blushed and looked down, a small, embarrassed smile on his face. "I just like knowing how things work together, it helps to take a long view on things."  
  
"Well I guess I know why your armor virtue is Wisdom, huh?" If anything Sage blushed a bit more, and Seckmet smiled to see it.  
  
It would be good, he decided. Hard, of course, since forming new partnerships and companionships always required a lot of work on everyone's part, but in the end, everything would most likely turn out very well.  
  
*  
  
TBC  
  
Feedback is always appreciated. 


	3. Chapter Three

Shadow Dancing chap 3  
  
-Celesta SunStar  
  
I don't own the Ronin Warriors. I make no profit from this.  
  
*  
  
Kento set himself down in front of Sage in a manner that indicated that he would not be moving until he got whatever it was that he wanted. The huge grin on his face revealed that he expected to be very happy about it, but that in itself was not reassuring. Kento had been known to come up with some very devious practical jokes from time to time.  
  
Sage set aside his notebook and pen, "Is there something you wanted Kento?" Kento's grin seemed to widen a fraction more.  
  
"Just wanted to know who was making you so happy Sage." Kento was very happy for his friend and even happier when he realized from the faint frown on the blonde's face that he had figured something out before Sage had.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"You just seem to be more happy, kind of like you're settling in to get to know someone, and I know that it couldn't be that Wendy friend of Rowen's, she's not complicated enough for you."  
  
"Gwendolyn."  
  
"Yeah, whatever, Sage. So, you gonna tell me who it is?"  
  
"Why do you think I have met someone?"  
  
So far, so good; Kento noticed that while the small frown Sage was wearing was still there, he wasn't getting tense or giving off 'uncomfortable' vibes like he did unconsciously when he didn't want to talk to people. "Well, I've been noticing some little things for a couple weeks now, and I've been working at putting it together." He started out slowly. Anticipating Sage's next question he began to run down the list of things that he had seen or heard that had stuck in his mind, and his reasoning about what was behind them. "You've always been one to disappear for awhile, but some of your disappearances have started to become more regular. You smile a bit more often, and sometimes when you do there's a far-away look in your eyes, like you're thinking about something said or done by someone not around; 'cause if they were around, you'd be looking at them and not staring into space.  
  
"You've never really been a person who loses his temper, but I've seen you get annoyed at certain things, and they don't seem to be annoying you anymore, but sometimes other things do. And your speech patterns have changed a bit... not a lot, but you'll use a word or a phrase that I don't think you would have used a month ago. And I know for a fact that you aren't using contractions as much anymore. When you're thinking about somebody and trying to figure them out, you start to mimic how they say things or how they gesture. I've noticed that in Cye when he's thinking about Catherine, or Rowen when he's talking about Mia's latest research."  
  
Kento let himself feel a bit of smug pride at the surprised smile on Sage's face. "You know Kento, you are going to make one hell of a cop when you finally earn that badge you are working toward."  
  
"Does that mean you are going to tell me who it is?" Kento couldn't resist asking even though he already suspected the answer.  
  
"No," the sunny smile squashed any disappointment Kento could feel about the expected answer. "Since it is not just about me, I do not have the right to assume what information would be right to tell you."  
  
"Okay, then," Kento shrugged and got up. "Let me know when you can."  
  
"Of course." Sage watched as his friend walked away whistling and wondered about what he was supposed to do now.  
  
*  
  
"So it was Hardhead who finally noticed something? I would not have expected that."  
  
"Kento is smart Dais. He may not be a genius like Rowen is, but he is not stupid." Sage twisted away with a grunt of effort, only to find himself on the ground 'dead' moments later. Part of that was because he was working to master a short sword and dagger, while another part was because it was difficult to carry on a conversation and a fight at the same time. Most of it though, was because Lady Kayura was so damned fast.  
  
"Take a breather, Oh Wise One, you should never be so tired that a simple trick like that can catch you." She told him, not unkindly. Sage couldn't help feeling the tiniest bit resentful since she didn't even seem to be breathing hard.  
  
"Yes, MOM."  
  
"Good boy," She patted his butt in response as he left the stone ring that delineated the training circle. He fought the urge to growl at her and eased himself down beside Dais. He found himself a bit glad that his armor was the Halo, and started to clean his blades as Kayura chose her next victim. "CALE, get your butt down here and in the ring so I can beat you up!"  
  
"What, now!?"  
  
"Yes, now. Move it!"  
  
"So what are we going to do about Hardhead, Sage?"  
  
"That is just what I was going to ask." Seckmet said as he settled down on Sage's other side. "Any ideas?"  
  
"I don't want to lie to them, but I just cannot accurately predict how everyone is going to react." Sage sighed as he thought about his teammates. "I was thinking about just approaching Cye first, with Cale... but Cye would not be able to keep it a secret, even if he felt he should. And we did agree that it would not be wise to just drop this into their laps.  
  
"Rowen would trust Ryo's opinion, but Ryo is a bit hot-tempered. Whether Ryo would trust White Blaze is up in the air." Sage looked over to the mound of mystical white tiger that opened a brown eye and then contentedly went back to sleep. "The best thing I could think of would be to talk to Kento, believe it or not. I'll make sure to get his promise before I say anything. Right or wrong, Kento takes his promises seriously."  
  
Seckmet frowned thoughtfully as they considered it. "Well, you have the most experience with the rest of the Ronins, other then across the blade, so if you're sure..."  
  
"I only think, I cannot be sure." Sage interrupted, "but plan or not, we will not be doing this today." He rose fluidly, and started gathering his gear. "Dais, are you ready to go set up that bank account now?"  
  
"Ready when you are."  
  
Sage smiled and bowed mockingly, "Well then, when you have changed, you may follow me to the car."  
  
*  
  
TBC  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Reviews are always welcome and appreciated, please let me know what you think.  
  
Fortunately for my bank account but not for my free time, I have taken on another part time job. I wake up about 6:00 (AM) so that I can have a car, drive to a camp 45 minutes away, where I work on the water with a bunch of kids. I have just enough time to drive home, take a shower and go to my other job (as a lifeguard) where I can't write.  
  
I'm getting home about 10:15 PM every day.  
  
Wednesday and Saturday are the only days I have time to think about something other than dinner or sleeping... but I'm a college student and that's life.  
  
I'll try to get a part out every Wednesday, but don't count on it, it may turn out to be every other Wednesday.  
  
I have said previously that this story may end up yaoi. I would like to update 'may' to 'will eventually.' What I will do however, is try to keep what is posted to Fanfiction.net as G-rated as possible. The story in its entirety (including the adult stuff) will be posted on my site with appropriate warnings. I will notify those interested in the future Author's Notes.  
  
That being said;  
  
I would like to thank:  
  
Split Persona and Shadow of Arashi for being enthusiastic and complimentary, especially since they also happen to be two of my favorite authors.  
  
Brennend for being very through in her reviews (after I badgered her into it) ;)  
  
Akima Miota for checking several times a day to see if I've updated.  
  
And Texas Aries who has promised her help in writing the asked-for orgy (when the time comes.) 


	4. Chapter Four

Shadow Dancing chap 4  
  
-Celesta SunStar  
  
I don't own the Ronin Warriors. I make no profit from this.  
  
*  
  
Kayura rocked slowly, a hurt boy being quietly miserable in her arms. She felt another flash of rage and quickly suppressed it. Sage deserved her full attention no matter how much she wanted to beat some sense into that idiot Ronin. Sage was extremely sensitive to and dependant on the link between the armors that when his friend had turned on him in rage as well as cutting Sage off of his armor link; the shock had nearly felled him, and the attack almost finished him off. If it hadn't been for the extra practice they had been putting in, Kayura doubted Sage could have held on long enough for...  
  
She looked up as Seckmet slipped silently into the room carrying a steaming cup. He set it down with a quiet clink on the bedside table. As he settled onto the bed Kayura smiled sadly and eased the young swordsman over into Seckmet's arms. She dropped a kiss on Sage's forehead and moved towards the door.  
  
She looked back to see Seckmet quietly urging Sage to drink whatever he had brought in. Sage looked so painfully young and vulnerable....  
  
She closed her eyes and leaned against the closed door, her heart giving an odd clench. She wished she could do more, but it was not her place.  
  
If Anubis' armor had stayed with her instead of disappearing once Talpa' threat was over...  
  
But it hadn't and her boys had things well in hand.  
  
*  
  
Sage seemed to have calmed down a bit. Whether it had been the tea Seckmet had brought or simply his presence as an armor bearer, Seckmet did not know. Sage now lay curled in his arms, with one of his hands fisted in Seckmet's robe.  
  
It tightened when Seckmet shifted positions a bit.  
  
"Stay," came a murmured plea.  
  
"Of course, I'm not going anywhere, Sage."  
  
The blond head nodded against Seckmet's breastbone. "It hurt," came quietly out into the warm silence after a minute.  
  
"I know." Sage sighed and relaxed against him as Seckmet started carding though the boy's tangled locks of liquid sunlight.  
  
The former Warlord looked up as Dais and Cale entered the room and joined them on the bed, touching his back and his shoulder lightly so the boy would feel their presence more clearly. "It's done?" Seckmet inquired.  
  
"Yes, hopefully he'll remember this the next time he decides to jump without considering the repercussions first." Cale said as hi eyes rested on Sage causing them to darken in concern.  
  
"I doubt it, but miracles have been known to happen." As Dais spoke a touch of humor lit his voice.  
  
Sage finally slept as his former enemies surrounded him in a cocoon of warmth and comfort.  
  
*  
  
TBC.  
  
*  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
It's been almost four weeks since I've updated this. Ouch.  
  
Sorry about this taking so long to get out, it wasn't ALL my fault. I plead extenuating circumstances. (Like the thunderstorms that knock out the power for two days at a time, like the car losing a piston, like the other car hitting a tree and a truck in three days of each other (I was not driving it,) like transmission repairs on the third car. Yes, my family has three cars and five drivers.)  
  
Thank you for being patient, the rated stuff should be in the next section, and I promise to get it out sooner than this one took.  
  
In the really, really good news, after this story is done I can use it as a prologue to a MUCH longer one that I started five years ago and am haphazardly working on. It measures almost two notebooks now, but will need revisions. But for the most part, once I get to it, posting will occur faster since the framework is already up and I can revise as I'm typing. Not like this current story that I'm writing, revising, typing, editing, and posting all at the same time.  
  
Please keep reviewing, it's all the nice reviews I'm getting that remind me to keep working on the story.  
  
Oh, I didn't tell you which Ronin it was that hurt Sage. ^_~  
  
Well I know who it is, but if you want to guess be my guest.  
  
-Celesta SunStar 


End file.
